Meng

In a large but remote region of Burma, conflict has forced over 100,000 people, mostly women and children, to flee their homes and live in displacement camps.

Here, they have no access to running water or enough food. The harsh conditions and lack of toilets make them vulnerable to disease. Almost half of the children here will die from easily preventable conditions, like malaria or diarrhoea – children like six-year-old Meng.

When Meng fell ill, he had already lived through the death of four siblings, including his brother Zau, who died of malaria two years ago. His parents knew that his symptoms were similar to Zau’s, but the nearest clinic was two days’ walk away and lacked the right medicines.

Meng had been suffering with malaria for three days, unable to move, by the time Health Poverty Action’s mobile medical team arrived to test for malaria. This medical team had been created locally, a wonderful thing made possible through the support of people like you. They were immediately able to provide the medicines he needed.

Thanks to these new teams, there was just one death from malaria in Meng’s community this year.

We’ve also strengthened local health services so that thousands of children are now immunised against deadly diseases, hundreds of women have been able to give birth safely in our camp clinics, and hundreds of new, hygienic latrines have been installed.

But there are thousands of people here whose lives continue to be threatened by poverty, disease and conflict.

Health Poverty Action is the only organisation currently able to provide support in the worst-affected areas, where 36,000 people are currently living. The work we’re doing is crucial to their ongoing survival.

If you’re able to, please make a donation to our work with poor and marginalised people around the world, and help to strengthen even more families and children like Meng in their struggle for health.